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Kistler-Gilliland Center for the Advancement of Learning

Mission

The mission of the Kistler-Gilliland Center for the Advancement of Learning is to foster a thorough understanding of how young people learn and to seek creative partnerships with students, parents, schools, and community resources in order to advance the quality of education.

The Center is lead by Director Gina Johnson who reports to and works closely with Holland Hall Head of School JP Culley. An advisory group composed partly of Holland Hall faculty assists the Director in maintaining the quality and direction of the Center’s work.

Purpose

The Kistler-Gilliland Center is dedicated to professional development for the Holland Hall community and educators in public and private schools in the region. The Center, founded in 1997, offers professional information and training to educators on relevant educational issues in general and effective, student-centered learning in particular. As part of its services and activities, the Center:

Educates teachers about programs that advance the understanding of learning, such as Learning Profiles: Creating Connections Workshop, and others.

Hosts recognized scholars and consultants speaking to teachers and parents about educational issues.

Supports Holland Hall faculty through such efforts as publication of their work, development of programs and curricula that enhance the learning process, and the teaching of workshops on learning topics.

Develops relationships with other schools, colleges, universities, and other centers of learning to share information, resources, and research.

Maintains a professional resources library and database on the learning process accessible technologically throughout the nation.

Philosophy

The Center is based on a number of premises, including the following:

The gap between traditional educational practices and recent research into learning needs to be narrowed by translating scientific studies into practical terms that teachers can make use of in the classroom.

The rapid changes that affect knowledge demand that schools continually evaluate the best way to teach and learn.

Technology offers numerous ways of strengthening learning for both students and teachers.

Schools, public and private, collegiate and pre-collegiate, need opportunities to share professional information more extensively.